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How were Tang marbled pottery effects produced?
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Chinese pottery
Painted Pottery funerary urn, Neolithic Banshan phase, c. 3000 bce, from Yangshao, Henan province, China; in the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm. Height 13.2 inches (33.5 cm).
During the Tang dynasty, the distinctive marbled effect on pottery was achieved through two primary techniques:
- Mingling Clays: Potters mixed differently colored clays together to create a marbled appearance, sometimes beating layers of variously colored clay into a homogeneous mass, a technique often referred to as agate ware.123
- Combing Slips: Potters applied slips (liquid clay) of contrasting colors to the surface of a vessel and then mingled them using a comb to create the desired decorative patterns.12